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Two Sisters Missing: The 1974 Reker Murders
On September 2, 1974, sisters Mary Reker, 15, and Susanne, 12, walked from their St. Cloud home for a trip to the local Zayres store to buy school supplies. They were never seen or heard from again. For nearly four weeks their disappearance was treated as a case of runaway teenage girls. But on September 28th their bodies were found at a nearby abandoned quarry. They had been stabbed to death with a small, double-edged knife.
There have been many suspects over the years but an arrest has never been made in the case. Stearns County investigators have said that the main suspect(s) in the case are still alive. There is still time to find answers to who was responsible for the deaths of Mary and Susanne Reker. Someone knows what happened.
This is the long-awaited story of the day the girls disappeared and the 40+ year investigation that followed.
Foreword and Afterword written by Rita Reker.
There have been many suspects over the years but an arrest has never been made in the case. Stearns County investigators have said that the main suspect(s) in the case are still alive. There is still time to find answers to who was responsible for the deaths of Mary and Susanne Reker. Someone knows what happened.
This is the long-awaited story of the day the girls disappeared and the 40+ year investigation that followed.
Foreword and Afterword written by Rita Reker.
148 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 3, 2021
TWO SISTERS MISSING examines the unsolved murder cases of Mary and Susanne Reker of St. Cloud, Minnesota, in 1974.
This case holds special interest for me as the two girls were my distant cousins. I was especially interested in knowing whether any DNA evidence had been preserved. These days many unsolved cases are being solved as a result of tracing DNA through family members who have sent their DNA to such sites as Ancestry.com.
I followed the case closely in 1974, but Robert Dudley includes several items I wasn't aware of, namely a similar case that happened about two years after the Reker murders.
A Dairy Land convenience store was robbed and the young female clerk was kidnapped. She was knifed with a similar weapon to the one that took the lives of Mary and Susanne, although she survived. They were able to arrest the two boys responsible. Mary knew one of them. He worked at the department store where she and her sister went to buy school supplies and look at winter coats. He also went to the same church Mary had attended in Luxemburg a small town near St. Cloud where Mary's grandmother lived. Witnesses said she had followed him out of church one Sunday when he left in the middle of the service. At first the detectives dismissed this boy because he passed a polygraph and because they couldn't find a connection. Obviously that wasn't true.
Another eerie piece of evidence is that Mary left a diary entry about being scare dof somebody, and that if something happened to her, her family should look for her killer. She had withdrawn money from her babysitting account just before she disappeared.
I had a problem with the book in that it's very repetitive. The author repeats his preface almost word for word, and in the event that you still didn't remember he includes a blow by blow addendum repeating the events again.
Despite it's flaws I'd recommend the book if you're looking for an update on a forty year old case. Rita, the mother, is still alive and works with other families with missing children.
This case holds special interest for me as the two girls were my distant cousins. I was especially interested in knowing whether any DNA evidence had been preserved. These days many unsolved cases are being solved as a result of tracing DNA through family members who have sent their DNA to such sites as Ancestry.com.
I followed the case closely in 1974, but Robert Dudley includes several items I wasn't aware of, namely a similar case that happened about two years after the Reker murders.
A Dairy Land convenience store was robbed and the young female clerk was kidnapped. She was knifed with a similar weapon to the one that took the lives of Mary and Susanne, although she survived. They were able to arrest the two boys responsible. Mary knew one of them. He worked at the department store where she and her sister went to buy school supplies and look at winter coats. He also went to the same church Mary had attended in Luxemburg a small town near St. Cloud where Mary's grandmother lived. Witnesses said she had followed him out of church one Sunday when he left in the middle of the service. At first the detectives dismissed this boy because he passed a polygraph and because they couldn't find a connection. Obviously that wasn't true.
Another eerie piece of evidence is that Mary left a diary entry about being scare dof somebody, and that if something happened to her, her family should look for her killer. She had withdrawn money from her babysitting account just before she disappeared.
I had a problem with the book in that it's very repetitive. The author repeats his preface almost word for word, and in the event that you still didn't remember he includes a blow by blow addendum repeating the events again.
Despite it's flaws I'd recommend the book if you're looking for an update on a forty year old case. Rita, the mother, is still alive and works with other families with missing children.
December 14, 2018
This is the story of a double murder which has not been solved to this day. The abduction of two sisters, Mary and Susanne Reker, occurred over the Labor Day weekend in 1974. At that time, law enforcement had yet to launch the Amber Alert program, and this case was at first treated as a case of runaway children. The two girls' bodies were found in the area of a quarry in Stearns County, near St. Cloud, MN about a month after they disappeared. For over 40 years, law enforcement has tried in vain to solve this case. The girls' mother, Rita Reker, who is still alive and in her 80s, still holds out hope that she will find out who stabbed her 12 and 15 year old daughters to death so many years ago. She is convinced that someone knows something about the case, and is hoping that they will finally make the call which will help to solve the case. It was interesting to note that the older girl, Mary, had left an entry in her diary the day before she disappeared, that she wanted to have her possible disappearance and/or murder investigated if that came to pass. Obviously, the girl felt she was in danger. The author lists the ten main suspects in the case; one of them was Ted Bundy, but at the time, he was jailed in Colorado. I hope that Rita Reker finds out who killed her two daughters before her life is over. She has been an inspiration (as was her husband before he died) to other parents who have lost children. It is never easy for any family to have to deal with losses like these.
May 1, 2017
Competent and Intriguing, but one step short of perfect
This is a reasonably well-written account of unsolved murder. It has the readability and religion of facts newspaper journalists used to be famous for, but which is mostly abandoned by today's digital circus. On the other hand, I would appreciate a chapter or two more of possible explanations, even if it just speculation. For instance, surely the family has some theories I'd like to hear. I've heard a rumor that the police unofficially know who committed this crime, but simply cannot prove it. So if this case is solved in all but an arrest and guilty verdict, I wish the author would tell us. Finally, I hope we can all keep in mind that a real family lost two irreplaceable girls; this is not merely a fictional crime thriller.
This is a reasonably well-written account of unsolved murder. It has the readability and religion of facts newspaper journalists used to be famous for, but which is mostly abandoned by today's digital circus. On the other hand, I would appreciate a chapter or two more of possible explanations, even if it just speculation. For instance, surely the family has some theories I'd like to hear. I've heard a rumor that the police unofficially know who committed this crime, but simply cannot prove it. So if this case is solved in all but an arrest and guilty verdict, I wish the author would tell us. Finally, I hope we can all keep in mind that a real family lost two irreplaceable girls; this is not merely a fictional crime thriller.
April 8, 2017
For any of my friends that grew up in Central MN in the 70's, this is a must read.
June 12, 2017
I felt this book was informative, if not a little repetitive, but not as repetitive as Finding Jacob Wetterling. The writer basically takes snippets of news articles and previously published material and throws them all together and calls it a book. I did give it 4 stars however, because I wasn't as familiar with the case of the Reker sisters. I had heard about them but didn't know the background of their disappearance and murders. So this book did enlighten me. The Wetterling case was very familiar so for that reason, I believe that book was more monotonous and redundant. As a Minnesotan, I am fascinated with local crime history, and will read books such as these titles for that reason alone. If you are like minded, these books will be ones you choose to read, as long as you can get by the amateurish writing style.
June 10, 2018
The book lists the chronological order in the disappearence of the sisters along with the unanswered questions. I was nine years old in 1974, living in the cities. In 1975 my family moved to the St Cloud area. Eerie, awareness when my mom and I went to town shopping. Fast forward to 1985 and meeting Fred and hearing the story of the loss, the search, the struggle for the family to go on. Lots of unanswered questions.
May 2, 2022
"Two Sisters Missing: The 1974 Reker Murders" by Robert M. Dudley details the murder of two young girls in Minnesota, and the family's search for justice. I read this book because I had previously read another book by this author detailing another Minnesota murder case. Like the first book I read, this one is also well written, and, I believe, will be of interest to anyone who has an interest in true crime.
November 5, 2017
Unfortunately an amazing book
Been in St. Cloud for 10 yrs. Heard about this through my father in law whom knew the family and was neighbors. Peeked my interest to learn more about what happened. I’d recommend this book because it taught me history of the town I live in. Unfortunately it is a great read and I hope she finds her answer.
Been in St. Cloud for 10 yrs. Heard about this through my father in law whom knew the family and was neighbors. Peeked my interest to learn more about what happened. I’d recommend this book because it taught me history of the town I live in. Unfortunately it is a great read and I hope she finds her answer.
January 7, 2018
Well written.
For those of us who grew up during this awful crime, this is an excellent summary of the case. It does not subjectively judge the investigation, nor does it make wild speculations. Highly recommended.
For those of us who grew up during this awful crime, this is an excellent summary of the case. It does not subjectively judge the investigation, nor does it make wild speculations. Highly recommended.
November 25, 2024
Meet the real Robert M. Dudley!
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews